local feature

RI News

4:00 am

Wed February 11, 2015

It’s been five years since North Providence Town Councilman Paul Caranci put on a wire and recorded his fellow council members accepting bribes. He gave the recordings to the FBI and helped convict three councilmen and a town solicitor on charges of public corruption. On Wednesday, Caranci receives an award in Washington, DC, from the National Association of Secretaries of State, recognizing an act of political bravery.

On Sports

7:15 pm

Tue February 10, 2015

Winning, like savoring a single malt Scotch, is an acquired taste. It takes time, 12 years in some cases. It takes work and patience and luck. And just as one must learn to sip that single malt, neat or on ice, one must learn how to win. Providence College and the University of Rhode Island are proof.

10:20 am

Mon February 9, 2015

On the heels of President Barack Obama’s announcement to restore diplomacy with Cuba, University of Rhode Island professor Maureen Moakley took a group of students to Havana to see first-hand the political and social changes 50 years after the Cuban revolution. A regular contributor to our Political Roundtable Moakley spoke spoke with Rhode Island Public Radio's Elisabeth Harrison.

Do you have insight or expertise on this topic? Please email us, we'd like to hear from you. news@ripr.org

On Politics

8:43 am

Mon February 9, 2015

With 18 new members in the 113-seat General Assembly, On Politics is offering a periodic look at the latest additions to the House and Senate. We continue with state Representative Lauren Carson (D-Newport), who defeated three-term former Representative Peter Martin in the Democratic primary last September.

Since August, 2010, the Rhode Island Public Radio newsroom has been headed up by News Director Catherine Welch. Friday is Catherine’s last day. She’s leaving for a job in Orlando, Florida where she will be news director at the public radio station WMFE.

Orlando is the 33rd largest television market in the country, and WMFE is a growing station covering Orlando, Daytona Beach and the Space Coast. Catherine has family in Central Florida and is looking forward to being closer to them as well.

February being Black History Month the Ocean State Theater in Warwick has brought back a 1987 play, “The Meeting.” African-American playwright and screenwriter Jeff Stetson brings together two major leaders who had very different ideas about improving the life and times of their fellow black Americans.

Dr. King, of course, developed a non-violent strategy. A minister with a Boston University PhD, he aimed to confront racism and violence strongly but without turbulence.

The Education Blog

8:29 am

Tue February 3, 2015

Rhode Island Education Commissioner Deborah Gist has gotten the votes to become Tulsa's superintendent of schools.

In a statement, Gist said it was a difficult decision, but she welcomed the opportunity to lead an urban school district.

She also noted that Tulsa is where her family lives.

"I know that Rhode Islanders can certainly recognize the attraction we have to our hometowns, and it would be a special honor for me to lead the district where I attended public school throughout my childhood," Gist wrote.

Political Roundtable

4:00 am

Fri January 30, 2015

Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian joins Political Roundtable to discuss how top elected officials responded to the Blizzard of 2015; development in Warwick; and the outlook for RI Republicans to win more elections.

On Politics

12:50 pm

Wed January 28, 2015

Dr. Stanley Aronson, the founding dean of Brown University’s Alpert School of Medicine, a prolific writer, advocate for community organizations and one of Rhode Island’s most prominent public intellectuals, died this morning. He was 92.

Aronson, whose career spanned more than 70 years, was a world-renowned doctor, medical researcher and leader in medical education. A genial, generous man, Aronson served as mentor to generations of physicians and medical students.